Finding the heart and soul in a piece of wood

Learning Task 5: Correcting using Adjustment Levels

This lesson was to make adjustments to images using various methods. here is the first one in it original form and then the adjusted image.

This image is very dark in both the foreground and background.

Adjusted image

This has had the levels adjusted and the curve adjusted a little. It now bring the fore and background out more and shows more colours.

I had a second go at improving my image. To do this I used an adjustment layer for the levels. I duplicated the original layer so that I wasn’t altering the original image. I worked on the duplicate layer and I used shadows and highlights until I was happier with the overall result. I feel that the image has better detail and contrast in the foreground whilst preserving the contrast and darker tones in the clouds

Original image 2

Not a bad picture but after the adjustments i think its a little stronger

Adjusted image

After adjusting the levels a little and adding vibrancy I think its a little stronger. The bridge comes out more as do the rocks in the foreground. The image is a little less blue than the original which reflects the actual sky on the day.

The first image had gained a detail that wasn’t there in the original as is shown by the trees having a colour and the whole image I feel isn’t compromised by the treatment. I like the levels and curves layers that I used. I chose to use layers as this is to some part none destructive to the original image. The second image I feel is shaper due to adding a vibrancy layer. The quality of the images did not seem to lose anything in the adjustments but did gain interest I feel

On advice from my lecturer I redid my second image. To do this I turned the image into a smart object. I then used smart sharpen and an adjustment layer for both vibrance and curves. I copied the original image layer and added a shadow and highlights adjustment layer to it. I did this to ensure I didn’t affect the original image.